The story of living in spite of melanoma, metastasis, vaccines, anti-PD-1, lung removal, and stereotactic radiation. The story of life with family and friends. {Posts under ~ Sew Chaotically, Travel Chaotically, and Chaotic Cookery also housed within! A girl's gotta have fun!}

About Me

Who am I? That is a question the rest of you could probably answer better than I. I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, pediatric nurse practitioner, cook, teacher, gardener, lover of words and music, occasional seamstress, and homemaker. I do have a couple of talents of questionable merit: I can create a decent meal in less than 30 minutes. I can feed and/or soothe almost any baby. And I can remember practically any song I've ever heard. For the rest, I'd rather those who know me decide.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Intestinal bacteria as a way to determine risk for ipi induced colitis!

I've previously talked about how certain cooties in our gut can serve us well in all sorts of ways. There was even a study noted in this link: Cooties in our gut keep us skinny, smart, and cure cancer? that found Bifidobacterium could promote antitumor immunity and facilitate anti-PD-L1 efficacy! Now there is this:

The composition of the intestinal microbiota
influences the development of inflammatory disorders. However, associating
inflammatory diseases with specific microbial members of the microbiota is
challenging, because clinically detectable inflammation and its treatment can
alter the microbiota's composition. Immunologic checkpoint blockade with
ipilimumab, a monoclonal antibody that blocks cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated
antigen-4 (CTLA-4) signalling, is associated with new-onset, immune-mediated
colitis. Here we conduct a prospective study of patients with metastatic
melanoma undergoing ipilimumab treatment and correlate the pre-inflammation
faecal microbiota and microbiome composition with subsequent colitis
development. We demonstrate that increased representation of bacteria belonging
to the Bacteroidetes phylum is correlated with resistance to the development of
checkpoint-blockade-induced colitis. Furthermore, a paucity of genetic pathways
involved in polyamine transport and B vitamin biosynthesis is associated with
an increased risk of colitis. Identification of these biomarkers may enable
interventions to reduce the risk of inflammatory complications following cancer
immunotherapy.

It would certainly be helpful to have a head's up about who is more at risk for the development of colitis when treated with immunotherapy! Perhaps other options would serve the patient better or if immunotherapy is undertaken anyway, a prior warning could promote a more watchful eye and aggressive, prompt treatmentshould any adverse symptoms appear. Best - c